Farm Gate

George Eustice has been the Conservative MP for Camborne and Redruth since 2010. He was a Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2015 to 2020 - and served as the Secretary of State at Defra from 2020 to 2022.

Mr Eustice has been the longest serving minister at Defra in the post-referendum period, providing a relatively rare point of consistency and stability in what was a time of substantial disruption in British politics.

In this podcast Mr Eustice discusses his time in government, with the Chief Editor of https://8point9.com, ffinlo Costain.

Former Defra Secretary, George Eustice, says debate is “raging” at Defra over future direction of farming - we also talk about his proposal for a Coronation fund to protect rare and native breeds

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Outwintering your cattle herd in an agroecological farm system can reduce both costs and environmental impacts - but while ever more producers are taking this approach it's still far from common place. In this programme we discuss how to design an outwintering system that maintains productivity and ensures good cattle health and welfare.

ffinlo Costain is joined by Silas Hedley-Lawrence and Clare Hill from FAI Farms in Oxfordshire.

8.9ha News (Audio version) - What is 8.9ha?

Our first 8.9ha TV News is now also available on our website https://8point9.com/ and on YouTube. Watch now for our news headlines, and my interview with Julie Cleijne, from Sustainable Kitchen Consultants.

Thanks so much for listening to Farm Gate over the last couple of years. I've thoroughly enjoyed the wide-ranging conversations we've had about sustainable food systems, and it's been a privilege to share those conversations with you.

But the Farm Gate channel is changing because the podcast has become part of a bigger family. Farm Gate will be produced as usual, but we're adding a whole heap of extra content.

8.9ha is a multi-media news channel supporting knowledge transfer for people working in land-based sectors and linked supply chains from food to fashion—people who actually have the ability to deliver food and fibre production integrated with climate mitigation and adaptation and biodiversity regeneration. 8.9ha is the only news channel designed and curated specifically to assist practical, investable and inclusive change across land-based industries, land policy and land investments.

On our website - 8point9.com - you'll find articles, webinars, podcasts, and week daily TV News. And that's why I wanted to talk to you today.

In addition to Farm Gate, this channel will also host the first few episodes of the 8.9 Hectares TV News, which can also be found on YouTube - at the 8.9 H A Channel - and on our website 8point9.com

I hope you'll take a moment to watch our news broadcasts, and to subscribe to other 8.9 Hectares content.

Thanks so much for listening - our next Farm Gate podcast - on outwintering cattle - will come out on Friday the 21st of April.

While regenerative agriculture itself isn't new, popular interest and the increasingly widespread deployment of regenerative principles, is a product of a global conversation that has taken place largely within the last decade. Despite that, regenerative farming has already become mainstream, with large businesses and corporations investing in research and embedding ambitious regenerative targets, and even government ministers urging producers to take up regenerative methods.

So what happens next - what does the next decade look like for regenerative agriculture?

ffinlo Costain is joined by Caroline Grindrod, founder of Roots of Nature, Sue Pritchard, chief executive of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, and by Jonty Brunyee, the Head of Farming and Food at FarmED.

Wilder Doddington is at the start of a hundred year project to bring more nature back to the Doddington Estate - working to restore ecosystems to benefit people and nature.  In this programme ffinlo Costain is joined by Wilder Doddington's Isobel Wright and the independent farm advisor, Liz Genever, who's working with Isobel and advising on cattle management.  The conversation ranges from the exciting activity at Wilder Doddington to a discussion about some of the more controversial aspects of the rewilding movement.

Environmental breakdown and global population rise have led to a strong focus on food supply chains, but the way that we produce fibre is equally important.  At least 60% of our clothes are now made using synthetic, petrochemical-based fabrics - all of which need to be replaced.  Natural animal or plant-based fibres will become resurgent on the cat walks and on the high street - so the need to reform and integrate food and fashion supply chains is urgent.

ffinlo Costain talks to Cate Havstad-Casad, farmer and founder of Range Revolution, an Oregon-based company which produces luxury leather products from certified regenerative ranches.